HOSEA CHEUNG, SUN MEDIA

While Sergei Shirokov, Tanner Glass, and Aaron Rome did enough to earn themselves a spot on the Canucks, Cody Hodgson's below-average performance sent him packing for Brampton.

The 19-year-old rookie, who many expected to crack the lineup this year, failed to leave a strong impression, and will spend another season in the OHL.

"We really believe that this young man has tremendous amount of upside, but at the end of the day, he didn't show any signs that he was ready to play at this level," said coach Alain Vigneault.

"After analyzing it and talking about it, we felt the best thing for him was to go back to junior to his team, and we're going to have a plan for him as far as his development, and we're confident we're going to have a better player next year."

At practice, Shirokov skated on the second line with Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson - a likely trio for opening night - and Glass was with Darcy Hordichuk and Ryan Johnson on the fourth line, while Rick Rypien sat out with the flu.

Defenceman Kevin Bieksa also missed practice with a tweaked groin, but is expected to skate today, according to Vigneault.